Throughout the last three months of my life, the only constant
has been my Voices of Youth internship. In the midst of meeting
new people, adapting to a new life in university and getting used
to a routine after the nomadic life I lived last year, everything
has fallen out of place. There was a certain level of uncertainty
that I expected to feel after changing lives, however, never did
I think that this would also bring anxiety, fear and discomfort
to such an extent. I’m not going...

After spending some time wondering who the best person to feature
here was, I realised that the best person to interview was there
all along. The following questions were asked to my best friend,
Carissa Reid. She is selfless Jamaican soul who has been my
mentor and my role model. Her interests range from feminism to
dance and even math. Hopefully, you will find in the following
questions the passion she speaks with and the dreams she wishes
to fulfil. I hope that in the same way s...

I have always been awful at goodbyes.
I don’t know when I should let go of people.
I don’t like the idea of having somebody who meant so much to me,
just disappear overnight.
I really don’t understand how easy it is for some people to just
move on.
To not hesitate while moving forward.
I have never been able to do that smoothly,
but life keeps putting that challenge in my path.
I hold on to people because I am not willing to give up the
memories....

I have been thinking about this blog post for a while, analysing
what exactly was it that I wanted to communicate and what is it
that makes me feel the need to write about this. This is a
thought that has been on my mind since before joining the VOY
team but only now have I found the words to put this on paper.
You will find in this piece many contradictions and you will
notice how unsure I am about this topic and how to approach it,
but please bear with me.
I identify as a lib...

Everybody who has been a senior in high-school knows the level of
stress that has to be endured throughout that year. Sure, people
might say that life gets a lot tougher, and as you grow up you’ll
realise that high-school was a children’s playground. That can be
completely true and yet, it doesn’t undermine the enormous
pressure that teenagers have to face throughout this phase of
their lives. Not only are seniors flooded with assignments,
exams, but there is also the weight of col...

Who the hell decided which country was which? I don’t mean the
names or the flags but the actual territory of each country? How
did we come up with the organization of our current nations or
who had the power to determine “from here onwards it’s mine, you
take the rest”?
The berlin conference of 1884-85 is the quintessential
example of how unreasonable these boundaries are. Back then, the
biggest European countries sat down to discuss the future
repartition of the african conti...

Forever 21. H&amp;M. Mango. United Colors of Benetton.
Nike.
You name it and I’ll bet you there has been a
story in the news linking them to sweatshops or terrible working
conditions.
These shops, however, are just the final stage in the pyramid
behind the garment industry. Before the clothes even reach these
stores, manufacturers have to design the clothes. They then go
and hire sewing contractors (98% who are located abroad) to make the clothing.
The contractors have to t...

It’s a girl is short documentary that was made by me in
Jamkhed, India, alongside my friend Bamae. The video was made in
March of this year during our stay at the Comprehensive Rural
Health Project. CRHP is an “organization [that] works with
rural communities to provide community-based primary health care
and improve the general standard of living”. Throughout our time
in Jamkhed, Bamae and I worked alongside some incredibly strong
and encouraging women. From them we learned more a...

Have you ever stopped yourself, in the middle of your lunch or
breakfast, and thought about all the people involved in the
creation of that bowl of rice that you are eating, or those
french fries that you are craving? Have you thought about the
farmer that has made it possible for you to have food on your
table?
I know I never did. I know I never stopped myself to think about
where my food was coming from. A part of me though it was enough
going to the supermarket and picking u...

Maria Jimena Jurado Giraldo

My passions range from dancing, to writing, reading, photography and basketball. I'm majoring in Political Science starting this August. I was born and raised in Cali. However, at seventeen I'd the chance to join the United World Colleges movement and moved to India to finish my last two years of high school. I graduated and took a gap year with a program called Winterline, which I just finalized.

Member since May 21, 2016

Age 22 •
11 Posts

Leiden University College The Hague, Colombia

Voices of Youth (VOY) was founded in 1995 as UNICEF’s online place for young people to learn more about issues affecting their world. Today, VOY is a vibrant community of youth bloggers from all over the world, offering inspiring, original insight and opinion on a variety of topics. Everyone is welcome to write, film, comment and engage in discussions. Let’s go!